Bush Center's opening raises speculation

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Updated 9:49 pm, Thursday, April 25, 2013

Photo: Ron Edmonds, FRE

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FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2010, file photo, former President Bill Clinton listens to former President George W. Bush speak in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama asked Bush and Clinton to help with U.S. relief efforts after the earthquake in Haiti. They have dominated American politics for the past three decades: the Bush and Clinton families, taking turns in a string of positions of power and influence. The dedication of George W. Bush's presidential library on Thursday shines a spotlight on two of the nation's most prominent political dynasties _ and the prospect of another White House campaign, in 2016, featuring the families. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File) less

FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2010, file photo, former President Bill Clinton listens to former President George W. Bush speak in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama asked Bush ... more

Photo: Ron Edmonds, FRE

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From left, President Barack Obama, former president George W. Bush, former president William J. Clinton, former President George H.W. Bush and former president Jimmy Carter arrive for the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Thursday in Dallas. less

From left, President Barack Obama, former president George W. Bush, former president William J. Clinton, former President George H.W. Bush and former president Jimmy Carter arrive for the dedication of the ... more

Photo: David J. Phillip, STF

Bush Center's opening raises speculation

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DALLAS - Together on stage, the two families who have dominated American politics for the past two decades joined Thursday to pay tribute to the opening of George W. Bush's presidential center. Whether or not the families will have another act in 2016 was the unspoken subtext.

President George H.W. Bush, frail and seated in a wheelchair, beamed with pride, thanking the audience for honoring "our son." President Bill Clinton, who defeated the elder Bush 20 years ago, joked that he had become the "black sheep son" of the Bush family.

George W. Bush, standing before his gleaming new center, observed that it was the "first time in American history that parents have seen their son's presidential library." Bush said his father taught him "how to be a president. Before that, he showed me how to be a man."

The dedication of the red-brick library on the campus of Southern Methodist University placed a spotlight on two of the nation's most prominent political families - and the prospect of another White House campaign involving them in 2016. Former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton accompanied her husband on stage while former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush sat in the audience with his wife, Columba.

Both are considering presidential bids in three years, moves that could create unprecedented dynasties - the first spouses to serve as president or the first brothers - and lead to a similar event at a future library a decade or more from now.

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The White House has created a bond among the families, from George H.W. Bush, who presided over the end of the Cold War but watched his popularity fade, to Bill Clinton, whose "I feel your pain" message created a connection with Americans who survived impeachment. The younger Bush, who choked up at the end of his speech here, is remembered for a bullhorn speech amid the wreckage of the 9/11 attacks.

The families first squared off in 1992, when George H.W. Bush ran for re-election and faced Bill Clinton and independent H. Ross Perot in a riveting campaign that took place as Bush's sky-high approval dwindled following the first Iraq war.

Clinton repeatedly questioned Bush's handling of the economy while the incumbent challenged the fitness for office of Clinton and running mate Al Gore, punctuated by Bush's claim that his English springer spaniel, Millie, knew more about foreign policy "than these two Bozos."

When the Clintons arrived at the White House in January 1993, aides to both families said the Bush family was gracious to the new president and his family. The elder Bush avoided criticizing his successor, and after Clinton's presidency, the two joined forces to raise money for victims of the devastating tsunami in Asia in 2005 and Hurricane Katrina in 2006.

Aides describe a friendship between the two ex-presidents that almost resembles a father-son relationship. Bill Clinton has visited the ailing ex-president at his homes in Houston and Kennebunkport, Maine, and first lady Barbara Bush joked in a 2012 interview with Parade Magazine that her sons refer to Clinton as their "brother by another mother."

"My mother told me not to talk too long today - and Barbara, I will not let you down," Clinton quipped Thursday, prompting laughs from Hillary Clinton.

'We've had enough Bushes'

WASHINGTON - Amid the celebration surrounding the opening of son George W. Bush's presidential library Thursday, former first lady Barbara Bush brushed aside talk of a Jeb Bush run for the White House in 2016.

Appearing from Dallas on NBC's "Today" show, Mrs. Bush was asked if she thought Jeb, the former governor of Florida, should seek the presidency.

"He's by far the best qualified man," she said, "but no."

"We've had enough Bushes," she added, saying "it's not just four families, or whatever."

She went on to tell anchor Matt Lauer, "There are people out there" who are qualified.